California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $1 billion order of face masks from a Chinese manufacturer has been denied certification by federal regulators, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.
The N95 particulate-filtering masks California planned to buy from supplier BYD are being delayed while the company tries to secure safety certification.
A spokeswoman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Katie Shahan, wrote, “NIOSH tested the received hardware; however, the review of the documentation provided to NIOSH for the design, manufacturing and quality inspection of the device was concerning,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
California’s contract also includes the purchase of surgical masks, which do not need to be certified, and BYD has already begun shipping to the state.
“The state’s agreement with BYD has already proven to be successful, having delivered more than 18 million surgical masks,” Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, wrote in an email to The Bee.